Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Impressions from E3 2011: Day 2

Nintendo’s incredible ability to draw disdain at E3 for what would be incredible and innovative products was in full force today. It unveiled a new console called the WiiU, which eschews the motion controlled wand of its predecessor in favor of a touchscreen tablet with buttons and dual analog sticks. It kinda looks like a LeapFrog product.

But asides from that, this new console is a very smart move on Nintendo’s part. The Wii’s main flaws came out of its lack of processing power (which restricted it from getting the AAA multiplatform franchises which defined the generation) and the inability to opt for traditional controls for developers. Here, Nintendo is using a gaming technology that they introduced which proved to be far more successful. The Nintendo DS introduced touch-screen gaming which, in recent years, has practically revolutionized the smartphone gaming market and initiated a massive new movement in casual gaming. Installing that functionality into a home game console will make WiiU’s games more fun to play from a traditional viewpoint. “Hardcore” developers are already bringing their mainstream games to the console. Games like Assassin’s Creed, Batman: Arkham City and Ninja Gaiden 3 will all be featured on the console during its 2012 launch.